Radio-tag plan for library books

Wellington's public libraries could be using radio frequency identification (RFID) tags to track and issue books in three years.

Wellington Libraries manager Jane Hill says the council is eyeing a move to RFID technology for the Wellington Central City Library and its 11 branch libraries, but wants the cost of the technology to come down first.

Books tagged with RFID chips can be read by wireless scanners and automatically checked in and out.

The scanners also allow library staff to quickly find misplaced books and materials, she says. "You can tell it to make sure all books in an area bear a certain number and it immediately beeps when it senses one that doesn't."

A move to RFID is in the Wellington City Council's long-term plan. "If we're lucky it will be in the next three to five years."

The tags are costly, she says. "If you move 700,000 to 800,000 items to tags and each one, for example, costs $2, that's a lot of money. We're hoping the price of tags will come down."

Manukau City Council installed RFID technology in its Botany Downs library in 2004 – a New Zealand first. Group manager for libraries Mirla Edmundson says the council's 13 branch libraries, research library and mobile library now use the technology.

About 70 per cent of all library issues are now done by patrons themselves, reducing queues and allowing library staff to focus on helping customers find books, materials and information. "It's certainly been a significant success for us in terms of a more quality service for customers."

The libraries are about to begin using scanners to find misplaced books and materials, she says.

Horowhenua Library Trust acting head of libraries Joann Ransom says it has selected United States firm Tech Logic as the preferred supplier of RFID systems for its new libraries to be built in Levin and Foxton.

The system will be used to issue and return books and will automatically trigger an alarm and a camera at the security gates if someone takes a book that has not been issued.

"Down the track", the trust hopes to extend the system to allow auto-returns – when RFID readers built into return boxes automatically check books back in.

Ms Hill says Wellington City Council is one of about 25 local authorities taking part in a request for information led by the National Library for a shared library management system that could be used by the country's 284 public libraries. The system will be compatible with RFID.

National Library deputy chief executive Sue Sutherland says the system will manage libraries' catalogues and vendor information and the issuing of books and materials.

The libraries will issue a request for information from vendors next month, and expect to complete the business case for the system by the end of this year.

No decision has been made to buy a system, but a single system for multiple libraries will deliver benefits in terms of economies of scale, she says.

"There are also some quite small library systems in New Zealand and together we may be able to get increased functionality from the same dollar spend."